Former policeman latest arrest in Vietnam's transport scandal

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Thursday September 14, 2006

Hanoi- A policeman who tried to derail the investigation into one of Vietnam's largest corruption scandals has been arrested for taking bribes, an official said Thursday. Nguyen Dinh Toan, a former police lieutenant colonel, is accused of pocketing at least 12,000 dollars in order to influence the outcome of his investigation into the Project Ministry Unit 18 transport scam.

The deputy head of the Social Crime Investigation Department under the Ministry of Public Security, Tran Trong Luong, acknowledged that Toan was arrested on bribery charges Tuesday but would offer no other comment.

According to local news reports, Toan took the bribe from Bui Tien Dung, the former director of PMU 18, who is now under arrest. He is accused of siphoning off millions of dollars from transport projects and spending the money on luxury cars, prostitutes, and gambling.

PMU 18 is the government's transport agency responsible for building roads and bridges. Much of its 2 billion dollar budget comes from the World Bank, Japan and the European Union.

The scandal has forced one minister to resign and has resulted in the arrest of a number of high-ranking officials. Concerned that funds from international donors may dry up if there are further scandals, Vietnam is stepping up its crackdown on corruption.

The World Bank announced on Saturday that it was extending 800 million dollars to Vietnam over the next five years. But it warned that if any of its money was misappropriated it would revoke the loan.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur